“I Got a P-P!”

Yes, you read the title correctly…. I got a P-P! For those who are unaware of what that means, I will enlighten you. It means, I got a problem with preachers and politicians. Simple as that! Let me first state that this does not apply to every preacher or every politician… With the same regard, although it does not apply to every one of them, it does apply to the vast majority. I have constantly been rehearsing over the years that, We MUST hold our leaders accountable.

Furthermore, this is not a thought that I have just begun speaking out against or writing about. On December 7, 1989, Acres Home held the War on Drugs Rally. Amongst those present was the 41st President of these United States, George H.W. Bush. In his remarks he quoted the exact message that I have been sharing for over thirty years. An excerpt from that speech revealed the following….

“Roy Douglas Malonson said it right here in Acres Homes the same night I addressed the entire Nation on drugs. He said: “The bottom line is we’re going to have to take a stance and quit blaming others for the problem. We need personal accountability.” Roy couldn’t be more right. Only the American people can make this change in attitude. Only you can cultivate character and a sense of values in our kids. It’s not a Federal problem for which there is a simple Federal solution. We can’t do it by looking to the Government alone.”

My purpose in sharing this piece is to inform our readers that I didn’t just start with the whole accountability stuff…. For decades, I have been calling out our preachers and politicians to stand up and hold themselves accountable to the people and duties they were elected or called to protect and stand up for. Don’t get me wrong, I am not picking on these two groups of leaders. But I am and will continue to call them out until I feel that the message is getting across. Because the truth of the matter is that they have a job and so do I.

For nearly 30 years, African-American News & Issues has thrived off of being a publication that highlights and addresses current and historical realities affecting our communities. Therefore, this is a part of the charge that I have chosen to uphold. At the top of the list, amongst current and historical realities affecting our communities, is the fact that those who are in leadership positions and roles that have the power to speak out and act on behalf of the African-American community do not always hold true to their duty.

We MUST Understand that the laws do not protect Black people. Hence, part of the beginning to understanding our problem, is to recognize that some of our problems are the laws themselves. Think about it… We elect people and we elect them and they write the laws for them and against us. So if we want to do something we have got to get out and vote! We need to vote every single politician that is in office out, telling us one thing and doing another. I don’t care if they a Black-neck or a Red-neck. Because everybody Black ain’t Black no way; by the same token every White person is not out to get us. But in regards to these politicians if they are not doing what is in the best interest of our communities then they don’t need to be rallying our support; nor do they need to be in legislation making laws that are supposed to govern us, but killing us all at the same time!

Once they know that we are not just going to give them our vote without holding them accountable then they will start to see things differently. But many of them will not change because there is nothing that exists that suggests that they need to. So we must speak up and allow our voices to be heard in ways that our tongues cannot prevail. It is a proven fact that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I repetitiously echo that the two most powerful tools that we have are, “our vote” and “our money”. Hence we should be careful who we give them to. Whoever we give our vote and money to is amongst those that we empower.

So to recap…. We give our votes freely to politicians and our money freely to preachers. But these tools are too precious to just invest them into leaders who say that they are going to represent us, as long as they need something from us and then forget about us once they have reached their goals. No! They MUST be held accountable. I’m not a Saint, but I have enough sense to know that some of these preachers in the community have the power to have a true voice outside of screaming and hollering Sunday after Sunday in the midst of four walls. That same voice can be used within the neighborhoods, on the streets, at City Hall and many other places. There is more to the role of preacher than just getting up in church on Sunday’s. So if you are supporting a preacher that chooses to remain inside the church and not ever consider coming out into the community to utilize his voice and power on things that matters most to you, your family and community; then maybe you should confess that you got a P-P too! And then do something about it!

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In the mid 90’s, chairman of the Acres Home Citizens Chamber of Commerce, Roy Douglas Malonson along with wife and partner Shirley Ann sought after a publication that would be by the people and for the people. Pursuant, Roy contacted several of the existing Black publications at an attempt to produce and generate a quality newspaper that would cater to typical residents of the African-American community; most of whom were often overlooked in other publications. Despite Roy’s continued desire to work with existing newspapers to create a true Black paper with a Black voice, none of the publications desired an interest in such a publication.